1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to flyable airplanes and, more particularly, to airplanes which are formed from plastic and the method of manufacturing the plastic airplanes.
2. Description of Related Art
Ready to fly control line models are well known in the art and generally consist of injection molded plastic components that are quickly assembled by the end user. Models built this way are relatively heavy for their size and have high wing loading compared to hand built models. A company that produces such models is Estes Industries, producing a line of models under the COX brand name. Prior models have been built with the wing and fuselage made from vacuum-formed shells, but no attempt to build in an internal structure as in ribs or spars as been employed. Further, no prior manufacturer of control line flying models has incorporated all the functioning parts including the wing, the fuselage, the vertical fin, and the moving tail surface into two halves or xe2x80x9cshellsxe2x80x9d. Other types of ready to fly models have been molded from steam expanded and other structural foams, from pre-printed laminated foam sheet that is wrapped around a balsa wood structure, an assembly of vacuum formed components, and from a combination of fiberglass and hot wire cut plastic foam. Such models require extensive hand labor to complete and cannot be easily mass produced.
There is, therefore, no method of fabrication known in the prior art that utilizes two portions or shells to produce the entire airframe or that will produce a ready to fly model airplane that exhibits an internal structure and allows assembly of the entire airframe in a single operation. There is no control line model in the prior art that can be mass produced as simply or efficiently as the method herein, and, owing to a covering of self adhesive vinyl or other thin material, appear to have been built by the time consuming hand method of fabrication using a hand built balsa wood internal structure.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a robust airplane that can be efficiently mass-produced in a variety of color schemes and have the appearance and performance of a hand built model.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a lightweight aircraft that will be easy to fly and withstand abuse from a beginner in the sport.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing that can be easily tooled to produce a variety of styles and specific types of airplanes that employ a variety of airfoil shapes and contours.
It is another object of the present invention to minimize the assembly time that the end user must spend prior to flight.
It is another object of the invention to provide an efficient method of manufacturing a full flying horizontal tail surface or xe2x80x9cstabilatorxe2x80x9d.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, there is disclosed a method of fabricating a ready to fly plastic airplane. An upper portion of the airplane is formed having an upper wing, an upper fuselage portion, a vertical tail fin, and a pair of upper horizontal tail surfaces, one on each side of the first fuselage portion. A lower portion of the airplane is formed having a lower wing, a lower fuselage portion, and a pair of lower horizontal tail surfaces, one on each side of the second fuselage portion. The upper portion is joined to the lower portion. Excess material is trimmed around a periphery of the joined portions. The joined horizontal tail surfaces are separated from the fuselage. A bearing is mounted on each side of the fuselage where the horizontal tail surfaces had been joined. The horizontal tail surfaces are reconnected to a respective bearing wherein each horizontal tail surface may pivot on opposite sides of the fuselage about a horizontal plane, connecting the horizontal tail surfaces to a control rod wherein movement of the control rod may produce pivotal movement of the horizontal tail surfaces, mounting a motor driven propeller on the fuselage forward of the wings, mounting a landing gear on the fuselage, covering the formed airplane with a thin film.
In further accordance with the teachings of the present invention, there is disclosed a ready to fly plastic airplane. The airplane has a fuselage, a pair of wings, one on each side of the fuselage, a vertical tail fin and a pair of horizontal tail surfaces, one on each side of the fuselage, an engine mounted on the fuselage, a propeller driven by the engine and a landing gear connected to the fuselage. The fuselage, wings tail fin and horizontal tail surfaces being formed from an upper portion and a lower portion which are joined together. A thin film covers the airplane. Control means are connected to the airplane for external control of the flight of the airplane.